Battle of Xuyi

The Battle of Xuyi was fought in 196 AD between the armies of Liu Bei and Yuan Shu at Xuyi in Xu Province. Liu Bei was tricked into attacking Yuan Shu by a forged edict sent to him by Cao Cao. Liu Bei defeated Yuan Shu's general Ji Ling, whose subordinate Xun Zheng was killed in a duel with Guan Yu.

Background
In 196 AD, Cao Cao took Emperor Xian of Han under his protection and moved the capital to Xuchang, where he made himself Regent Marshal and Prime Minister. He sought to use this position to destroy his enemies, chief among them Lu Bu, who had been granted residency at Xiaopei in Xu Province by Liu Bei in 194 AD. Cao Cao persuaded the Emperor to make Liu Bei the official Governor of Xuzhou, but sent a private note asking him to execute Lu Bu. Liu Bei refused, despite his brother Zhang Fei's pleas, and Cao Cao was angered by his refusal. Cao Cao was then advised by Xun Yu to have Liu Bei and the imperial pretender Yuan Shu go to war with each other in a conflict which would destroy two rivals to Cao Cao's ambitions; Cao Cao sent a forged imperial edict to Liu Bei urging him to subdue the southern regions along the Huai River. While Mi Zhu informed Liu Bei that the edict was forged, Liu Bei - a staunch loyalist of the Han dynasty - decided to follow it anyway, and he prepared 30,000 troops for a campaign against Yuan Shu, leaving Zhang Fei and Chen Deng in charge of defending Xuzhou as he marched on Nanyang.

Battle
Ironically, Yuan Shu had been planning to attack Liu Bei when he discovered the imperial memorial, and he sent Ji Ling north with 100,000 troops to conquer Xu Province. His army met Liu Bei's army at Xuyi, where he and Guan Yu fought in a duel. Ji Ling called for a break and sent out his officer Xun Zheng, who was killed after one bout. Liu Bei then urged on the army, which defeated Ji Ling's troops and forced them to retreat to the Huaiyin River. Liu Bei's forces killed many of Yuan Shu's troops when they were sent to harass his camp, and the two armies again stood off against each other.